McClean, who represented Northern Ireland at Under-21 level before opting to play his senior football for the Republic, found himself at the centre of controversy during his time at Sunderland when he refused to wear a commemorative poppy shirt in November 2012, and is still booed by Black Cats fans as a result of his stance.

He was also accused of turning his back on the British national anthem before a West Brom friendly in the United States in 2015.

McClean was not the only Ireland player to salute Mr McGuinness with injured defender Shane Duffy, another Derry native, taking to Twitter.

Duffy, who plays his club football for Brighton where five people were killed when the IRA bombed the Grand Hotel in 1984, received a series of replies, some critical and some supportive, before adding: “I’ll always stand by what and who I support, it’s the way I was brought up.”